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Antony and The Johnsons: Antony and The Johnsons: I Am a Bird Now

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Antony and The Johnsons
I Am a Bird Now
Secretly Canadian
2005

This column rarely examines new music, but I am a Bird Now, released in February of 2005, is a notable exception. The record and its composer have been slowly building a cult following in the alternative rock and pop world. But the sounds infused throughout the record should be of great interest to fans of more eclectic jazz tastes.

Since the release of their eponymous debut on David Tibet's Durtro label—reissued on Secretly Canadian in 2004—Antony Hegarty and his band the Johnsons have become popular figures on the New York downtown scene. Though they lack the hardcore avant-garde approach that drives mainstays such as John Zorn, their music and lyrical output is out of step with contemporary popular music. Antony's voice is in itself an experimental sound.

Antony was born in West Sussex, England, but he lived in California from the age of ten until his move in New York in 1990. During his youth in California he encountered his strongest musical and personal influence, Boy George. The androgynous vocalist and leader of the synth-pop group Culture Club unknowingly helped Antony deal with his feelings of social alienation.

Musically, George's quivering high-pitched vocal style is still reflected in Antony's vocals. After moving to New York, he formed the avant-garde cabaret group Blacklips. His look was indebted to the Isabella Rossellini chanteuse in David Lynch's modern noir masterpiece Blue Velvet, mixed with the drag queen who was featured on the cover of Soft Cell's Torch single.

Keeping his ever-changing sexually amorphous persona, he went into a studio and recorded the demos that became Antony and The Johnsons' self-titled debut. After recording the EP I Fell in Love With a Dead Boy, he was approached by another boyhood idol, Lou Reed. Reed had him write a new arrangement for one of his most beautiful solo pieces, "Perfect Day," for his record The Raven. He then toured with Reed to support the album, even singing the Reed-penned Velvet Underground ode to Candy Darling, "Candy Says." He finally made it back into the studio for a second full-length release, I am a Bird Now.

Antony's persona seems to leave a huge impression on people. In fact, at times it seems to shadow the music in much the same way it did for David Bowie in the early '70s. The makeup and gender ambiguity rivals the music for an audience. And like Bowie, he is a composer whose music speaks for itself. Antony's image does play an interesting part in the music, but his voice has the uncanny ability to display both male and female characteristics. Through every track on the disc, he can move from one voice to another while staying in pitch. Antony's voice is a huge part of his music. He doesn't always use jazz phrasing, but the influence is there.

Antony's most obvious debt among jazz vocalists is to the late Nina Simone. He cites her as a huge influence, even covering "Be My Husband" in concert. But its not just her phrasing; he uses her operatic blues and almost embodies her voice at times. Antony also has a great love for Billie Holiday, though her sound isn't as strong as Simone's in the overall makeup; he has performed Lady Day's dark and haunting "Strange Fruit" in some shows. In the cornucopia of influences that shade his voice, there is also the blue-eyed soul croon of Roxy Music's Bryan Ferry, as well as hints of Scott Walker and many jazz torch singers.

The music, on the other hand, mixes soft jazz into cabaret and the genius chamber-pop of Scott Walker's '67-'70 period. The sparse arrangement of piano and vocals on the opening "Hope There's Someone" is a haunting combination that recalls side one of Patty Waters' Sings. Waters' compositions on Sings have the same dark yearning that Antony employs throughout his work, but strictly in the compositional sense. Waters' famous experimental vocal style is not in Antony's repertoire.

Next, "My Lady Story" is a subtle chamber piece where the jazz arrangements and Antony's voice takes front stage, though this track, as with the rest of the record, isn't so much in the vein of vocal jazz albums as it is the jazz vibe. The record remains adventurous, and Antony utilizes soul-stripping lyrics to flesh out a neo-cabaret meets Leonard Cohen sound.

Heroes Lou Reed and Boy George make appearances here as well. Reed lends his wooden delivery to the intro of "Fistful of the Love," as well as a feedback-drenched solo riding the harmony. George duets on the third single, "You Are My Sister."

I Am a Bird Now is very much a disc of atmosphere, incorporating alienation, love, pain and joy into its lyrics, mood and music. The construction at times leans more toward cabaret or chamber/baroque pop, but Antony's piano style and writing are steeped in jazz. Featuring talented songwriting and arrangements that make for beautifully executed pop, this disc is worth seeking out.

Suggested Spins:
Antony and The Johnsons, S/T, Durtro 2000, reissued Secretly Canadian 2004
Roxy Music, S/T, Island 1972
Roxy Music, Country Life, Island 1974
Nina Simone, Anthology, BMG/Sony 2003
Rufus Wainwright, Poses, DreamWorks 2001
Rufus Wainwright, Want Two, Geffen 2004
Scott Walker, Boy Child: The Best of Scott Walker 1967-1970, Fontana 1992
Patty Waters, Sings, ESP 1965

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